Star-Crossed

Part 8

Zayn takes a seat next to Xeno, who is at the head of the table, and I take a seat next to Zayn. To the left of me is one of the people who I don't know. She introduces herself as Sonya. She seems nice.

"And across from you," she continues after she introduces herself, "is my husband, Dom."

"Pleasure to meet you, Karina," Dom says. He seems pleasant as well.

They don't seem to hate me or think I shouldn't be here. What a relief!

I smile and respond to Dom, "Likewise."

To Dom's left sit Eva and then Max, who continue to ignore my gaze and pretend like I don't exist. They are listening to Xeno tell a story.

Xeno seems oddly familiar to me, but in a very hazy way. I just feel like I've seen him somewhere before. Zayn told me that he's one of the Great Mentors of the Squad, so he's probably also a character in the comics that I used to read about Moxie Perez. Moxie is also one of the Great Mentors.

Xeno's skin is dark and smooth. He looks to be in his late 40s. He's handsome, regal almost, and healthy. Strong but lean. He has kind, emerald-colored eyes that seem tinged with loss. His laugh is hearty. His teeth are sparkly white, and he has a generous smile. But there is an undeniable intensity about him, despite his affable nature. This is what intimidates me about him, I think.

It seems like he has finished the story he was telling Eva and Max. He clears his throat.

"Good morning everyone," Xeno booms.

He looks straight at me and smiles. "Welcome, Karina. I hope you slept well," he says.

I gulp at the unexpected shout-out and smile back but am at a loss for words. I just nod.

Xeno continues.

"As you all hopefully know by now, my name is Xeno, and I am one of the Great Mentors of the Galactic Squad. In fact, I helped found the Galactic Squad, years ago, along with a handful of other extremely intelligent and talented people."

Xeno explains that he is one of the few people who escaped from Planet Earth, when it was at war with itself.

"I, along with three other brave souls, witnessed Earth implode from nuclear warfare just as we were exiting its atmosphere," Xeno recounts. "We barely got out in time. We were so damn lucky."

Xeno explains that he, along with Moxie Perez and two of their dear friends and fellow scientists - named Lola and Mo - left Earth hoping to find a habitable place to live. A place to start over and perhaps maybe even to do things a bit differently. By chance, they landed on a planet within the Seratona Galaxy called Veda.

I've heard of Planet Veda before. My parents used to mention it from time to time as this totally dichotomous place where you can either spend your life distracting yourself from the truth or work hard toward understanding it.

A lot of people in Seratona talk about Veda as the "Party Planet", but my parents always told my sister Pikar and I that there was so much more to Veda than that, if you paid close attention and if you were also lucky enough to be exposed to certain people and things.

I also vaguely remember hearing about an urban legend regarding Veda, having to do with some sort of food that grows naturally there and that, if consumed regularly, helps a person stay young and healthy for a lot longer than they would otherwise be able to do so on their own. But, as far as I know, it's just a myth.

"It was, at first, a time of great distraction to be on Veda," Xeno continues. "But then, we met a very special person, named Rishi, who led us high into the mountains and taught us many important lessons about the nature of consciousness and reality."